Monday morning's storms caused boat to capsize, six were saved, two were found dead
CHARLEVOIX CO., MI -- Strong winds and dangerous weather early Monday morning caused a sailboat racing in the 103rd Annual Chicago to Mackinac Sailboat Race to capsize, killing two crew members.
Six crew members from the sailboat "WingNuts" were rescued by a nearby vessel called the “Sociable.” Two members of the crew didn't make it.
This all happened around 12:30 Monday morning west of Charlevoix and east of North Fox Island and is the first time in the race’s history somebody has been killed during the race to Mackinac Island.
The Coast Guard and other local agencies assembled a rescue team once they learned that two crew members from the sailboat WingNuts were still out on the water. Sadly, the rescue turned to recovery.
The recovery centered on the capsized racing vessel and it was here that divers from the Charlevoix and Antrim County Sheriff’s Office found the victims. Island Airways charter service took us over the scene.
"It was a male and a female, and he was kind of up in the well area, and she was kind of off to the side, on the starboard side, almost at the edge of the boat," explains George Lasater, the Charlevoix County Sheriff’s Diver who found the bodies.
The two have been identified as 51 year-old Mark Morley, the skipper of the boat, and 41 year-old Suzanne Bickel, both from Saginaw. Divers say they were both tethered to the boats lifelines.
“I had to cut her tether lose, I tried to undo it where it was attached, but it was all tangled up with sail and ropes and everything so I just ended up cutting it," explains Lasater.
We have a picture of the WingNuts from a regatta in Lake Charlevoix last September, when it was much calmer compared to Monday morning, when WingNuts and other ships in the race hit the storm.
"The perfect storm, and we were there along with several other boats where they collided and that's where there were generated winds of 70 miles per hour and it shredded sails, capsized boats, masts went down, people in the water, and general mayhem," describes Robert McManus.
McManus is the owner of the sailboat "Edge," which was sailing neck and neck with WingNuts. He says the loss of two fellow sailors brings deep emotion.
“Very deep, very, hard to handle," he says.
And George Lasater, the diver that found the bodies, says it appears that the ship had no other damage other than simply turning over.